Do Complications in Hip Arthroscopy Change With Experience?

PurposeThe aim of this study was to evaluate the type and incidence of complications during the development of hip arthroscopic techniques.MethodsA retrospective series of 194 files of patients treated with hip arthroscopy in a tertiary hospital from December 1999 to March 2008 was reviewed for complications. The incidence of complications was recorded consecutively for each group of 30 patients and in intervals of 2 years. A comparison between the complication rates was performed within the time frames and the set of cases. The type and severity of complications were also recorded.ResultsThere were 12 complications (6.1%) in this series. Of these, 5 were neurologic (2.6%), 4 were musculoskeletal (2%), and 3 were vascular/ischemic (1.5%). According to severity, 2 were considered major complications (1%), 8 were intermediate (4.1%), and 2 were minor (1%). The incidence of complications did not change with time (P = .959) or with the number of cases performed (P = .771), but different types of complications occurred along the learning curve.ConclusionsThe nature of complications changed with experience, but no significant variation in the incidence was observed over the 9-year period of experience with hip arthroscopy.Level of EvidenceLevel IV, therapeutic case series.